Chapter 3
Lara
“How did you know Ryker was your soulmate?” I asked Mila, my best friend, as we waited for Ryker and Parker to grab our drinks from the bar.
The car racing had been fun and I’d thoroughly enjoyed teasing Parker before our races.
His eyes had sparkled as we’d joked around and I’d thought we really had a connection.
Only then I’d noticed his eyes following a hot blonde every time she walked past us, and my heart had sunk in jealousy.
I’d tried to keep a smile on my face instead of letting my sadness show.
I mean, what sort of loser would I be if I expressed my jealousy to him?
He’d think I was crazy. Men didn’t like jealous women they were in relationships with, let alone jealous women they weren’t even dating.
And just because I’d thought he’d been flirting earlier didn’t mean anything.
Because maybe that was just his way and it didn’t actually mean anything to him.
“I’m not sure.” She shook her long blond hair and looked at me with a tentative smile. “Are you asking me because you want to know about me and Ryker or because you want to know about you and Parker?”
“You’re too smart.” I laughed at my best friend and leaned my head back on the red leather couch. I was surprised at how comfortable the seating was in the bar. I was used to cheap plastic and vinyl and this was a pleasant change. “Why can you always read my mind?”
“Because I’m in your mind.” She handed me a bottle of water from her bag and sat next to me. “Plus, I was in your shoes just a few months ago. Drink this while we wait for the boys to bring our drinks.”
“Water?”
“I know how you get when you drink too much.” She nodded. “We don’t need you telling Parker anything you’ll regret in the morning.”
“True,” I agreed and opened the bottle of water and took a sip. “I shouldn’t get drunk. I’ll either tell him I love him or that I hate him, and neither of those statements sound like a good idea.”
“Yeah, no.” Mila laughed and I watched as she rested her head back and smiled at me.
She had such a look of contentment on her face and as I smiled back at her, I realized just how much I envied her peace of mind and happiness.
And that made me feel horrible. I loved Mila.
She was my best friend and I wanted nothing but the best for her, but seeing how happy she was with Ryker sometimes made me feel like my own life was even more of a mess.
I felt like I was living in daydreams. I wanted so much to be with Parker that every little smile he gave me meant something more than it did.
I needed to get out of my head, but I just didn’t know how to do that.
“I know how hard it is, Lara.” Mila gave me a sympathetic smile and stared at me for a few seconds. “It’s such a mentally exhausting position to be in. I’ve been there.”
“Yeah, but now you’re engaged to Mr. Wonderful and I’m just here still wondering what I’m doing wrong with my life.” I sighed before taking a large gulp of water, wishing it were wine. “Am I wasting my time waiting around for Parker?”
“Is that what you’re doing?” Mila asked me softly. “Waiting around?” She looked at me hesitantly, her eyes soft as she looked into mine. She looked beautiful, but I always found that the glow of love gave you something makeup never could.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “It sounds stupid to say I’m waiting around on someone who might never love me. Might never want me. It sounds pitiful.”
“You’re not pitiful.” Mila grabbed my hands and squeezed them together. “You’re the man.”
“Only, I’m not a man.” I made a rueful smile at her and laughed. “I’m a woman. A woman desperately in love with a man who doesn’t even know I exist.”
“He knows you exist.” Mila laughed, but she stopped laughing within seconds as she surveyed my face. “Are you okay? And before you answer, let’s go to the bar and grab the bottle of wine that the bartender just gave the guys.”
“I’m fine.” I sighed a long, deep, dark sigh. “I’ll be fine,” I said and followed her back to the bar, trying to still the excitement in my heart as we neared Parker.
“We can always come up with a plan,” Mila said thoughtfully, her eyes sparkling as we walked. “I can’t say it will work, but maybe.”
“A plan?” I asked her curiously. “What sort of plan?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” She grinned at me and then lowered her voice.
“Hold on, I’ll tell you more when we get back to the table.
” She winked at me and we stopped next to the guys.
“Hey, we’ll take the bottle now, thank you.
” She grinned at Ryker, who looked at her lovingly, and I just stood there, avoiding eye contact with Parker.
“You girls don’t want to wait here at the bar with us?” Parker said teasingly, and I looked over at him. His eyes were on me and I shook my head and smiled. He winked at me then, a slow, teasing wink and I couldn’t stop my heart from fluttering. Why was he such a flirt?
“I think we’ll wait at the table for you guys,” I said finally. “We’d rather sit than stand, thank you very much.”
“You can sit on my lap if you want,” Parker said and winked again, and my mind went to all sorts of naughty places. “There’s a barstool.” He nodded at it and grinned at me.
“I think I could just sit on the stool directly as opposed to your lap,” I retorted, and he laughed.
“What fun would that be?” he said, and my face flushed as he continued to stare at me.
“I’m not sure either way would be fun,” I said, and he nodded with a sly smile.
“Touché.” He handed me two wineglasses and I looked over at Mila, who was staring at us curiously.
“You ready?” I asked her before she could tell Parker to stop playing with me.
“Yeah.” She nodded and I watched as Ryker leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled up at him happily and then started walking toward our booth. I followed behind her and we stood next to the booth. I handed her the wineglasses as we stood there.
“Let’s sit down.” She grinned at me as she poured me a large glass of red wine. “You’re going to need to be sitting down for this.”
“So what’s this brilliant plan you have, then?” I asked Mila, my mind wondering if she actually had a good solution, a way for me to get Parker without feeling like a fool. I was slightly hopeful that she’d have a good idea. I mean, she had gotten Ryker, after all.
“Well, I don’t know that I would call it brilliant. It’s not like I’m the queen of love, or cupid, but I think it’s a good idea,” she said as she filled her glass as well.
“How good?” I asked her curiously, my mind wondering.
She wasn’t going to tell me to go back up to the bar to give Parker a lap dance or something, was she?
I grinned to myself as I imagined the look of shock on Parker’s face if I were to do such a thing.
I wondered if he would enjoy it. If he’d get excited.
If I’d get excited. I took a quick sip of wine to stop myself from thinking such crazy thoughts.
There was no way in hell I was going to go to the bar to give Parker a lap dance.
“Well, let me get it out and I’ll tell you. Come, let’s sit down.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me into the booth next to her.
“Why do I have to be sitting down? It’s not completely crazy, is it?
” I sat back into the comfy couch and took another sip, looking back at the bar and staring at Parker’s ass.
His jeans looked so snug and tight on his athletic legs.
He was just so sexy. “You don’t want me to give him a lap dance, do you?
Because that would be absolutely crazy.”
“Don’t be silly, Lara. When have I ever suggested you do something crazy?” Mila laughed slightly after she spoke.
“Plenty of times.” I shook my head. “Just as I’ve suggested plenty of crazy ideas to you. Ideas that you’ve actually done.”
“You’re braver than me,” she started and gave me a huge grin. “And plus, this idea isn’t crazy, I promise.”
“Do I need to gulp my glass of wine down before you talk?” I glanced at her. “Hmm?”
“No.” She grinned. “But if you think it will help, yes.”
“Okay, fine,” I said and sipped on it slowly. “Hit me. What is it?”
“What is it? Just the most brilliant plan I’ve ever had.”
“Hmmm,” I said and pursed my lips, not fully convinced. “Let me hear it, then.”
“You know how they say that you should date your best friend?”
“Hold up.” I put my hand up. “I’m not interested in dating you, Mila.” I fake glared at her and she burst out laughing.
“No, silly, not me.”
“I’m not getting into any girl-on-girl action, either.
I’m not interested in that.” I glared at her again, wondering if she had lost her head.
“That is not a good idea. I’m not going to be one of those girls who tries to titillate a guy by pretending to be interested in girls. That’s worse than the lap dance idea.”
“Lara, I didn’t say anything about girls.” Mila’s face was bemused. “And you’re the one who brought up lap dancing, not me. Just listen to me.”
“I’m listening.” I gave her a small eye roll.
“I want you to listen and not interrupt me. You can talk at the end, okay?”
“Fine.” I sighed. “Go ahead.”
“Okay, so here’s the deal.” She sat back, sipping her wine slowly, and I stared at the huge diamond engagement ring on her finger.
It sparkled, and I felt my heart swelling in happiness for my best friend.
She’d been in love with Ryker for so long and it had seemed like such a long shot that he would be interested in her.
Even I had doubted he had any real interest in her.
Yet, it had all worked out. Maybe Mila really did know something about love, or maybe she had just gotten lucky.
Either way, she was my best bet at figuring out how to get Parker to show some real attention to me and not just the innocent idle flirtation.
“I’m listening,” I said, my heart starting to race nervously.
“So, like I said, I think you should date and marry your best friend.”